Somebody posted on Facebook a link to a story regarding a carrier bag ban which the government of Bali has introduced after two Balinese teenage girls petitioned them. Apparently discarded carrier bags are strewn all over Bali and Something Must Be Done. Naturally this was being applauded by all right-thinking folk, except me who suggested it might be better to first find out who is littering the island in this way: locals or Australian tourists. One individual thought this meant I was “looking for someone to blame” instead of “finding a solution”, leading me to conclude he was almost certainly a middle manager in a modern corporation and had been on a training course recently.

Friday, 24 February 2017

Nine defendants from Redditch appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Monday following two incidents of disorder in Mount Pleasant in Redditch at around 9pm on May 16 last year.

Five defendants appeared in the morning and four in the afternoon to keep the two feuding families apart. All nine admitted a section four public order offence.

It's like the Hatfields and McCoys, but with even less variation in the DNA...

Recorder Paul Bleasdale QC, sentencing, said: "There's plainly bad blood between the two teams. The root is some feud between your family and the other family involved in this disorder and you fell out over the running of the mosque."

He said he had 'no information' about what the feud involving the mosque was about and said he had 'reservations about the forthrightness and honesty' of the accounts given by all nine defendants.

A polite court officer way of saying 'A plague on both your houses!'.

He gave all nine defendants a conditional discharge for 18 months and ordered each to pay a £20 victim surcharge.

Thursday, 23 February 2017

Vet Catherine Henstridge said she had heard of such thefts but didn’t believe thieves could be so cruel, adding: ‘I thought it was an urban myth. The chips are tiny – almost impossible to find just by feeling. Then you have the problem of removing it. You’d have to keep the dog still. It would be extraordinarily cruel.’

Not a problem for a certain demographic that the RSPCA rarely touch.

Kent police said Isla was seized during the execution of an ‘unrelated theft warrant’, although no arrests had been made.

Noreen Chambers, of Burlington Road, Thornton Heath, failed to attend Camberwell Green Magistrates Court on January 12 and a sentence was passed in her absence.

She was ordered to pay more than £3,500 due to the mountain of waste that had been building up and spilling out into the road outside her home since October 2015.

They shouldn't have been surprised at her non-attendance, mind you...

The local authority issued her with a Community Protection Warning in November 2015, requiring her to clear up the mess by December.

In February last year, when she had still failed to reply or to clean up the rubbish, which was still accumulating, and the council served a community protection notice on the property.

Following this Ms Chambers did contact the council to request an extension allowing her until March to clear the site, which was granted.
But she still failed to take any action to clear the site and officers confirmed through visits to the property that not only was rubbish still heaped in the garden, it was now spilling out onto the pavement and the kerb.

In April she failed to attend an interview with the council and after efforts to engage with her and resolve the issue informally, Croydon Council commenced legal proceedings.

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

Blackburn magistrates heard Dawn Greenhalgh gave a roadside breathalyser reading nearly three times the legal limit but then failed to provide a further sample at the police station.

Greenhalgh, of Whalley New Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis and driving without insurance.

She was made subject to a community order for 12 months with 40 hours’ unpaid work and a condition of attendance on the drink impaired driver’s programme and ordered to pay £85 costs and £85 victim surcharge.

Hmmmm.....

She was banned from driving for 36 months after the magistrates were told it was her second drink-related conviction within 10 years.

The second time she'd been caught, they mean.

Richard Prew, defending, said Greenhalgh had been at her uncle’s wake and had then made the foolish decision to drive away when a fight broke out.

Saturday, 18 February 2017

Lea Ledesma made a series of mistakes which led to the death of Ali Huseyin, 76, at London Heart Hospital on May 7, 2014.

The grandfather was recovering from a successful heart bypass when she gave him type AB blood instead of group O. He died the same day.

Ledesma, 49, tried to pin her fatal mistake on a colleague in the intensive care unit.

Remember what I said at the time, over at 'OoL'? Did anyone bet on a custodial?

If you didn't, congratulations!

There were jubilant scenes from the former nurse and her supporters at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday as she was spared jail.

The public gallery was packed with dozens of her family, friends and former hospital colleagues, many of whom had written letters of support for her.

Ledesma, of Stevenage in Hertfordshire, wept and hugged relatives after being given an 18-month suspended sentence and a community work order.

They formed a prayer circle in the courtroom and could be heard praising God and thanking Jesus.

Funny, I thought the Bible had things to say about bearing false witness...

The court usher eventually asked them to leave after they continued chanting and celebrating for several minutes.
The group then posed for pictures inside the building before being stopped by court staff.

Extraordinary behaviour. It's almost as if she's won the lottery. Apparently, though, you get much better odds on winning the British 'justice' system.

Friday, 17 February 2017

A new skate park will be built in Southend town centre in a bid to get nuisance youths off the streets.

The plans - spearheaded by James Courtenay, councillor responsible for children and learning - have been five years in the making.

Wait, what? I thought the Terrible Tory Cuts had left gaping holes in the council's budget?

Skaters and bikers currently use a makeshift park outside Southend Victoria station, on the corner of Victoria Avenue, and Queensway, but Mr Courtenay wants to give them a permanent base.

No, it's not 'a makeshift park' at all! It's just the pavement. Hence why the council spent yet more money trying to discourage them with new flowerbeds.

“When I joined the council in 2012 I went out on lots of visits, I talked to children and young adults and social workers of youth offenders.

“I also spoke to the youth council and I asked everyone what they wanted. The idea for a skate park came up. There are a lot of skaters that use the area outside Southend Victoria as a makeshift skating park but they need an official park.

“I had a lot of resistance to the idea and there was an argument that there were already facilities in Leigh and Shoebury but the point was that if you couldn’t drive, you couldn’t get to those facilities.”

Well, they can get their parents to drive them. It's not like they are working, is it?

The council has so far allocated £250,000 for the scheme, with plans to secure further grants.

The victim - who was alone - noticed the men sitting close to him, and when he got off they followed him along Stoke Newington Church Street.
He heard one of them say: “Where do you think you’re going?” before being pushed into an alleyway and punched in his face repeatedly for a whole minute, causing deep lacerations.

His mobile phone was stolen along with his wallet which contained his driving licence, cash and a bank card.

And how did they celebrate their big heist?

The man staggered home and did not contact police until the next morning - while Benidito-Fazenda was at Westfield spending a few hundred pounds of his money in betting shops and fashion stores.

Tuesday, 14 February 2017

Staff, students and parents at Blatchington Mill School will be consulted about plans to shift the school day by one hour.

If the plans are approved students at the school in Nevill Close, Hove, will start at 9.25am and finish at 4pm, instead of 8.30am to 3pm.

School bosses launched the consultation after being inspired by educational research suggesting early start times do not support the biological rhythms of adolescents.

So, this school was struggling and desperately needed something, anything, to raise their educational rating, no matter how daft?

Well....no:

Headteacher Ashley Harrold said: “With everything we do in school we want to take an approach of looking at research to see how to do things better for young people and families and then implement this in the school.

“We don’t think that school is the way it is and can never be changed.

“There may well be big logistical changes we could make.

“Actually, our experience is that pupils are generally quite focused in the morning and there’s not a massive issue with morning lessons. But we are looking for marginal gains to get a more harmonious learning experience.

“It may be that they’re absolutely fine now but they might be even better if we start a little bit later."

Sinia Tavernier, 37, of Gilroy Court in Thornton Heath, went on a thieving spree across south London supermarkets, including stealing charity boxes in Sainsbury’s Clapham Junction, and more than £1,000 worth of alcohol.

She has been jailed for two weeks.

This came after she stole another Royal British Legion charity box three days earlier from the same Sainsbury’s on November 10.
She also stole alcohol from multiple Sainsbury’s locations across south London from October 10 to November 11, including in Tooting, Wallington, Wimbledon and Bell Green, totalling in value of £1,064.
Morrisons in Sutton also had £308.74 worth of alcohol stolen by Tavernier on October 10, and Tesco in Lewisham had alcohol stolen worth £254.75 on October 5.
Tavernier also stole £324.70 worth of goods from Waitrose in Horley on November 9.

Tavernier had been on a suspended sentence of four weeks imprisonment for 12 months from September 9, for stealing £179 worth of alcohol from Marks and Spencer in Lewisham on May 16, and £345 worth of alcohol from Marks and Spencer in Bromley on May 17.

Monday, 13 February 2017

Speaking after the sentencing, Mrs Tongs’ daughter Victoria Lidstone-Scott, who lives in Billericay, said: “We all just feel genuinely very sorry for her (Chloe Thompson).

“She has to live with this for the rest of her life.”

They are more forgiving than I'd be, under the circumstances.

Oh, right! Circumstances. We hoped to get them, didn't we? This article doesn't mention them. But another does:

Miss Molloy said Thompson was a relatively inexperienced driver, having passed her test in January last year.
When interviewed she claimed her satnav had stated she was doing about 74mph before the crash.

“She recalled seeing brake lights but almost instantaneously collided with the Citroen,” said Miss Molloy.

“She said she looks at signs on the motorway but doesn’t really take on board what they show. She recalled a 40mph sign but didn’t know where.

“She described motorway driving as tedious and says it all looks the same, so her attention can be lost. She said she just wanted to get to her dad’s a bit quicker.

“Her attention was drawn to the scenery or she was just having a daydream. She liked looking at the trees. She said it was her fault she didn’t realise she was going too fast.”

Is your blood boiling yet? Mine is.

A psychiatrist diagnosed Thompson with ADHD on January 10 this year and suggested her “bad lookout” could have been caused by the condition.

She's been banned from driving for six years. Do they think her condition will have improved by then, or are they just taking a chance?

What was she in such a hurry for, anyway?

A care home worker, looking after dementia patients, she was on her way to see her father in Hertfordshire with her boyfriend.

Well, that's just great! If you don't meet this ditzy little chav on the roads in six years time, she could be looking after your granny in two years time!

Wait, did I say two years?

Thompson will serve a year of youth custody before being released on licence.

A Greenwich council spokesperson said: "While the person concerned is not directly employed by the Royal Borough of Greenwich we take all safeguarding concerns seriously and have referred this matter to Children's Safeguarding and Social Care Services.

“This therefore means we're unable to comment any further at this stage but want to reassure that we are giving this matter our full attention”

Saturday, 11 February 2017

Sheena Boll, of Woodstock Road, Forest Gate, pretended to be a 14-year-old girl from the school she worked at in Newham to make the allegation in March last year.

Purporting to be a teenage girl, she falsely claimed she had been sexually assaulted and that the man showed a worrying level of personal interest in her to the point of her avoiding him.

A police investigation into the source of the Childline claims resulted in 35-year-old Boll being identified.

And it gets worse...

Officers also discovered that mum-of-one Boll had a history of making numerous formal complaints to police, many of which she later withdrew after claiming she had come to a private resolution.

There's a shocker!

Boll was convicted of malicious communications at Thames Magistrates’ Court and sentenced to a prison term of 11 weeks, suspended for two years, on Tuesday last week.

She was also given 200 hours of community service and a 12 month supervision order, told to pay costs and compensation and placed under an overnight curfew with an electronic tag for a month.

Wait, what? She's a known lying bitch who puts her victims through untold distress, and she doesn't even get banged up?

Det Con Ben Land, from the Met’s Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: “Cases of false claims like this are rare, but do enormous damage to individuals.

“This was a calculated attempt to deceive professionals who are committed to safeguarding the most vulnerable children into believing that this hardworking, dedicated and caring colleague in her school was responsible for abuse against one of their pupils.

“Fortunately Boll’s efforts to mask her true identity were unsuccessful and we have received a positive outcome with the conviction and restoration of the professional reputation of the victim.”

Good grief, I know this is the sort of pre-written boilerplate they have to spout, but...how can you not die a little inside, having to say this with a straight face?

The youngster was attending Canvey’s annual Christmas lights switch-on with her mum when the day’s celebrations were brought to an abrupt halt.

She was hit by a car which appeared to be travelling the wrong way along Canvey High Street, where it turns into Foksville Road.

'Appeared to be'..? Well, was it, or wasn't it?

Surely Essex's Finest will know?

Her mum, who does not want to be identified, claims the male driver initially tried to continue driving - until a passerby stopped him.

The youngster was taken to A&E after the incident on Saturday, November. She suffered minor bruising.

A PCSO was called to the scene.

Oh...

The girl’s mother asked for the driver to be breathalysed. However, the family had to leave for hospital before a police officer who was authorised to carry a breath test arrived.

Since then, they have heard nothing from the police.

/facepalm

What do they have to say for themselves? It had better not be a bunch of meaningless platitudes about how ....

Oh...

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Traffic collision investigation can be a lengthy process as they need to be comprehensive and often involve gathering a lot of complex information to determine exactly what has occurred.

“Officers dealing with the case will provide the girl’s parents with an update as soon as they are in a position to do so.

“We can confirm enquiries are ongoing and hope the girl is recovering well from her injuries. Should her parents have any questions about the ongoing case they can make contact with the investigating officer directly.”

They clearly do have questions. My, it's good that you're a spokeman and not a detective, eh?

Wednesday, 8 February 2017

Michael Hoy, a Rochford councillor said: “I was down there and it blocked the whole road, no one could get through. It was awful.

“It looked like a tipper truck had just dropped its load and left, it was clearly commercial waste. I worry that this is a sign that it will get worse because some recycling centres no longer takes garden waste.”

What?

Stuart Wilson, a councillor for the Hullbridge ward, added: “It looked like this had been done by a professional.

“It is definitely more than a coincidence that this has happened since they banned the disposal of garden waste at sites. It was inevitable this was going to happen I suppose. That is why the opposition voted against it at Essex County Council because we knew this would happen.”

What utter cretin thought that was a good idea?

A spokesman from Rochford Council said: “We were contacted at about 8.25am with a report that garden waste/felled trees had been fly tipped and that the road had been temporarily closed as a precaution.

“When our contractors, Suez, arrived the debris had already been cleared to the side of the road. They have had to arrange for another contractor to remove the waste later.”

Dave Sperring, Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “It is truly shocking that anyone would be selfish enough to do this.”

Or short-sighted enough to realise that it would happen?

Simon Walsh, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste, said: “The Council took the decision to clamp down on the illegal commercial use of Recycling Centres for Household Waste, which had been the cause of a huge cost to the taxpayer.

“We have already considerably reduced the amount of commercial waste illegally going to our recycling centres and there is no evidence that improving enforcement has led to an increase in criminal behaviour ...”

Apart from the great big pile of illegally-dumped waste on the front page of the newspaper, you mean?

A thug who subjected a party guest to nearly two hours of physical abuse over a stolen wrap of cocaine has been sentenced to 33 months in prison.

Carl Wood, 27, of Second Avenue, Canvey, and Joe Hannaford, 20, carried out the attack in Wood’s home on October 5, 2015, during a drug-fuelled party.

Are there any other sort on Canvey?

However, Hannaford was spared jail after a judge heard he failed his driving test moments before the hearing while Wood will be out in three months having served 13 months on remand.

*sighs*

While on bail, Wood was found with bank cards stolen during a burglary. He also admitted cultivating cannabis after seven plants were found in his home.

Oh, come on! That's just taking the Michael...

Richard Jones, mitigating for Hannaford, said his client had taken a driving test in the morning in a bid to “better himself” - even though it made him late for court.

Isn't that 'contempt'..?

He said: “It might be unusual for somebody to do that but perhaps it’s a good thing because it shows his motivation in life is to improve his lot and become a positive member of society.

“Sadly, he failed the test.”

I rather suspect he's going to fail the 'becoming a positive member of society' too.

Mind you. weren't judges once considered that?

Judge Ian Graham said given Wood’s previous convictions for drugs and violence, a custodial sentence was “inevitable”.
But because Hannaford has just one conviction as a youth, a suspended sentence was appropriate.

*rolls eyes*

He said: “You have a good working history and I’m told you are in work now and even took your driving test this morning, knowing you were coming here this afternoon.”

Which made him late. But hey, if you aren't getting a clue now, I guess you never will.

Monday, 6 February 2017

...hiring someone to get a tick in that 'mentally handicapped worker' box to please HR might turn out badly:

She admitted fraud by abuse of position but was handed an 18 month suspended prison sentence after Judge Ian Graham heard she was “easily-led” and suffered from bi-polar disorder.

Thank god it was RBS, and not the Nuclear Research Facility that said 'Hey, we haven't got any fruitloops, let's hire some!'...

The fraud was uncovered in September 2015 after members of the gang were arrested by the NYPD, following suspicious purchases.

Officers found text messages from three phone numbers listed as Charlie, Charlie 2 and Charlie New. Kenny listed one of the numbers with her own human resources department at RBS.
She was arrested at work by City of London Police.

After destroying a loose SIM card in her pocket she told officers: “I know what it looks like but it’s to protect someone else.”

*makes twirly motion with finger round head*

Matthew Bone, mitigating, said Kenny was “vulnerable” because of her psychiatric condition and one of the fraudsters was an associate of her uncle.

He said: “It’s quite clear that this lady was not the brains behind this operation. She was not even one of the people committing the fraud.

“She is a lady who would struggle in a custodial setting and a lady who is very anxious about her future today.”

Patrick McFetridge, 36, took the £1,200 bicycle — which was loaded with medical supplies — as it sat unlocked outside an office block in the City.

However, the building’s concierge took a photograph of him after seeing him flee and McFetridge handed himself in to police after seeing a media appeal for help in catching him.

At City of London magistrates’ court yesterday, McFetridge was jailed for eight weeks after admitting theft but was spared a £1,200 compensation bill for the bicycle, which was never recovered, because he is a serving prisoner.

Wha..?

The court heard that McFetridge had 26 previous convictions, including for theft and burglary.

“People came to help me. Benevolent people came to help because of the stories in the papers.

“It has been amazing. I was like wow, people can feel when something is wrong. I could write a book on the benevolence of people.

Yes, people can indeed 'feel when something is wrong', Rekha. I'm feeling it now, for example.

But maybe the foreign press will be a bit more gullible?

“I feel the justice system needs to be fairer and accessible to everyone. I want to now put this entire matter behind me and move on. I want to travel to India and try and work on a book that would help educate others who get caught in a similar situation of being scared out of their own homes,” said the maths teacher, who works at Glossopdale Community College in Glossop.

I think you might struggle to sell that book, somehow.

The case was adjourned to be heard in the Chancery Division of the High Court.

Can it issue a bench warrant if she's still in India 'working on her book'..?

A police force carried out a controlled explosion on a “suspicious” car outside a station, not realising its own officers had parked it there.

A bomb squad was called after concerns about an unattended Vauxhall Corsa at Workington police station, Cumbria.
Roads around the building, in Hall Brow, were sealed off and an explosion carried out at 08:00 GMT.

The force blamed “an internal communications error” and apologised to the owner.

Could have been worse:

In the footage, the Metropolitan Police officer tells the DJ: "This isn't racist, it's a fact. Predominantly, the criminal profile of people who do it are black people.

"So, naturally if you see a car full of black guys, maybe dressed in gangster-style clothing or whatever, when they're driving down there, they're getting stopped."

Maybe these two should get together after the dismissal and have a commiseration drink..?H/T: Robert Hale via email

Thursday, 2 February 2017

Little Arthur Cox was on his way home from nursery with his grandmother and older brother when he was hit and fell underneath a vehicle at the junction of Ferndale Road and Old Shoreham Road, Hove.

His grandmother Sharon Maher said she feared the worst as she looked on with Arthur's five-year-old brother Archie.

The driver did stop at the scene but Arthur's mother Emily Tingey is calling for him to come forward as he has not been seen since the toddler, who had been on his scooter, was taken to hospital for the night.

How many names here? I'm losing track!

The 26-year-old said: "It's hard to think someone could knock down my baby and not ring to find out if he is alright.

"There has not been any contact from them and it could have been a whole lot worse."

Maybe this is a warning not to let granny mind the kids near the road?

A police spokesman said: "We are appealing for the driver of a car who stopped to assist a small boy who had been in collision with his vehicle in Hove to make himself known.

"The driver stopped and is reported to have called an ambulance, but a passer-by offered to drive the boy to hospital."

It follows an HMRC prosecution which saw the shop’s licence holder Koray Tatlidede, of Addison Road, Hove, plead guilty to deliberately and dishonestly suppressing sales, which reduced liability for payment of corporation tax on income.

He also admitted to evading VAT.

Naturally he is shocked, SHOCKED!, that anyone might think there was criminality going on:

The 32-year-old was visibly shaken at the hearing as he told the panel he only ever wanted to work hard, live a normal life and not to take part in criminal activity.

Well, that's possible. After all, millions do just that. It can't be hard...

He brought with him paperwork which he said attested to his good character.

A note from his mum..?

He said: “I have already been punished for this in court. I have to pay back money to the Government and I completed 150 hours of unpaid work.

“I am setting up a payment plan, but if I lose the licence I lose my business. How can I pay them back?”

He said he could not afford to bring solicitors to the meeting, adding: “I am a small business owner, me and my staff work really hard. I am there seven days a week and work between 10 and 12 hours a day – all through Christmas, new year and bank holidays for ten years. We are in an important location – I see us as the face of the city.”